The Importance of a Pinnable Image {and How to Make One}

Guest post from my friend Sarah at My Joy Filled Life! Don’t forget to read the rest of the blogging series! 

If you are a blogger, you NEED to have a Pinterest account.  Pinterest is a HUGE traffic referrer for many bloggers, in some cases, bringing in more than 50% of a blogger’s traffic.

Pinterest is an online visual bulletin board for all the fun goodies you find on the web.  The key word being visual.  So, if you are a blogger, you want to have a stand-out, pinnable image on all your posts so that they will be pinned and repined, thus bringing more traffic to your blog.

You may be wondering what a pinnable image is; aren’t all images pinnable?  Well, yes, almost any image is pinnable (some websites block the ability to pin images from their site), but you want an image that is going to advertise what your post is all about and stand out in the sea of pins on the computer screen, therefore bringing more attention to your post, and you guessed it, bringing more traffic to your blog.

For example, here is an image I took from an old post and revived it (I highly recommend adding pinnable images to old posts; make a pinnable image for them, pin them, and get that old post the attention it deserves).

It was quick and easy to make and about a week later (after I pinned it again) this was the result:

So how do you get started making pinnable images?  I’m glad you asked!  Here is what you will need to get started:

• A photo editing program; I highly recommend PicMonkey – it’s free and very easy to use.
• A picture, graphic, or blank canvas
• A catchy phrase or title
• This isn’t a necessity, but you also want to make your image as pinner-friendly as possible by adding a Pinterest hover button or something similar (more on that later). 

Here are a few video tutorials to get you started using PicMonkey to make pinnable images: 

Please take note before watching these videos:

This first video is a tutorial that will walk you through making a simple pinnable image:

This next video will show you how to make yourself a blank canvas to work with in PicMonkey:

And this last one goes over some of the basic features available in PicMonkey:

Here are a few additional resources for you to check out and get some inspiration from:

Places to find inspiration for color palettes:

• Mod Melon
• Colour Lovers
• Design Seeds

Places to find free or cheap graphics/images/clipart. Be sure to check the copyright and attribution rules before using any of the images:

• Stockfresh
• Microsoft Office
• My Cute Graphics
• Etsy
• 123RF
• Flickr Creative Commons
• Freedigitalphotos.net

Resources for making your blog pinner-friendly:

• Pinterest Hover Button
• Shareaholic
• Markerly
• Widget Builder
• Pin It Button

Some final words of wisdom:

• Look around on Pinterest to see what kind of Pins catch your eye; find ones you like and make something similar.  After all, Pinterest is a place to get inspiration.
• Take your own pictures; if you’d rather not use pictures from online or pay for ones, keep your camera handy and take pictures of things that might be relevant to upcoming posts.
• Play around on PicMonkey to check out all the features and options.  I’m still learning new stuff on there all the time.
• Go back in your blog archives and revive old posts by adding a pinnable image to them.  After you  make a new image for them, pin your post again and share it on other social media outlets as well, and watch your post come back to life. 

I hope this helps you get on your way to making pinnable images and gets you on your way to increasing those page views.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments and I’d be happy to help if I know the answer!

Sarah is the JOYful wife of Jorge, the JOYful mother of 7 blessings, and a JOYful servant to the Most High God. She has been JOYfully homeschooling since 2007, using an eclectic approach. Sarah left her working-mom-of-2 mentality and plans at the door when the Lord came knocking on it in 2002. Now, as a born-again, stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of many, she couldn’t imagine life any other way!

Sarah has a heart for moms, and uses her blog, My Joy-Filled Life, to minister to and encourage other mothers. You will find her writing and sharing about the joys of big family living, her faith, homeschooling, homemaking, and whatever the Lord lays on her heart. In her free time (what’s that?), Sarah enjoys baking (but not the clean-up), dabbling in photography, and running.

You can also find her on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, as well as contributing to Holy Spirit-Led Homeschooling and Breastfeeding Place.

Shared at Growing Home, The Better Mom, Time Warp Wife, Moms the Word, Raising Homemakers, Raising Mighty Arrows, Tending the Home Tuesdays, Heart & Home, Walking Redeemed, Deep Roots at Home, Modest Mom Mondays

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